The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Montana, Billings Field Office is preparing to move forward with a gather of 15 to 20 horses on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.

In June, the BLM completed an environmental review and decided to conduct a nonhelicopter bait- and water-trap gather that would remove 15 to 20 adoptable excess wild horses, aged 1 to 3 years, this year.

The Friends of Animals challenged the decision in U.S. District Court. On Thursday, Judge Susan P. Watters denied their motion for a preliminary injunction to halt this summer’s horse gather.

A previously scheduled public hearing will take place Friday afternoon at the BLM offices in Billings regarding the use of motor vehicles in support of the planned horse gather